49ers Announce Signing of Isaiah Oliver

The San Francisco Forty-Niners have signed cornerback Isaiah Oliver to a two-year contract. The former second round pick out of Colorado, appeared in 12 games last year and held opponents to a passer rating of 72.4 per ProFootballFocus.

However, it appears that while he is very good in coverage, his real strength may be against the run.

"PFF ranked Oliver 6th against the run out of all cornerbacks in the NFL last year," explains Eric Kaasa. "I know most analysts are saying Oliver is coming in to replace Emmanuel Mosely at outside Cornerback. I think they are absolutely wrong. Deommodore Lenoir will start on the outside after his great postseason, and Oliver will beat out Womack for the slot CB position."

"Womack is great in slot coverage, but he is not a force against the run the way Jimmie Ward was. Once we moved Ward into the slot our run defense went from average to great. So, I have no doubt Oliver will be the 49ers slot corner in 2022. Womack actually makes for the perfect dime CB with his superb cover skills, and his use in long yardage situations means his weakness against the run becomes a minimal factor."

Eric Kaasa also points out that he believes the 49ers are done with their defensive backs in free agency. "We may sign a veteran or two at minimum salaries to compete, but right now our starters are set. I project we draft two defensive backs, but our free agency signings are about done."

Oliver does have some durability concerns after tearing his ACL in 2021 after only four games. However, he returned in 2022 after missing the first five games to play all twelve games remaining in which he put up 37 tackles (3 for loss), seven passes defended, one sack and one interception.

The dollar figures of Oliver's contract have yet to be released.